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EPBC Act Referral Is Complete, Current and Correct

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EPBC Act Referral Is Complete, Current and Correct Submission #2597 - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification Title of Proposal - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification Section 1 - Summary of your proposed action Provide a summary of your proposed action, including any consultations undertaken. 1.1 Project Industry Type Mining 1.2 Provide a detailed description of the proposed action, including all proposed activities. Evolution Mining (Cowal) Pty Limited (Evolution) owns and operates the Cowal Gold Operations (CGO), located approximately 38 kilometres (km) north-east of West Wyalong in New South Wales (NSW) (Figure 1). Mining operations at the CGO commenced in 2005, and are currently approved to continue until 31 December 2032. The Action subject to this Referral is separate from, but related to, the existing CGO which currently operates under NSW Development Consent DA 14/98 (as modified from time-to-time). The Cowal Gold Project was referred under the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, 1999 (EPBC Act) in August 2001 (EPBC 2001/421). On 29 September 2001, the Commonwealth Minister for the Environment and Heritage decided that the Cowal Gold Project was not a 'controlled action', with the consequence that no approval under the EPBC Act was required. Summary Description of the Existing CGO The CGO involves conventional open pit mining methods. There are two types of ore mined, viz. primary ore and oxide or weathered ore which comprises the first and upper portion of the orebody. The process of extracting gold from ore from the open cut involves broken ore from the mine which is either stockpiled or hauled to a primary crusher located near the process plant. The crushed ore is then ground to a fine slurry, floated off as a concentrate through a flotation circuit, and passed to a leaching circuit where cyanide is added to leach gold from the concentrate. The flotation circuit reduces the amount of gold ore required to be leached (and hence, greatly reduces cyanide usage). The gold extracted is recovered and poured as gold bars or doré. These bars represent the final product and are sold to a refinery for purification. The finely ground rock residue left after the flotation and leaching processes (tailings), is then treated to destroy cyanide to prescribed limits and pumped to one of two tailings storages (Figure 2a). Storage embankments are progressively raised throughout the mine life. Waste rock from the mine (i.e. rock mined to recover ore with no commercial quantities of gold) is placed in a waste emplacement surrounding the open pit (Figure 2a). Submission #2597 - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification The CGO water management infrastructure is designed to contain potentially contaminated water (contained water) generated within the mining area, and to divert all other water around the perimeter of the site. The existing CGO water management infrastructure is comprised of: • A lake isolation system, comprising a series of isolation embankments designed to hydrologically isolate the open pit development area from Lake Cowal during mining and post- mining. • An Up-catchment Diversion System which conveys upper catchment surface runoff around the western edge of the CGO and into existing drainage lines to the north and south of the CGO. • An Internal Catchment Drainage System to separate surface runoff external to the CGO from contained waters generated within the CGO disturbance area. Surface water that is collected within the Internal Catchment Drainage System is managed by a series of contained water storages, bunds and drains. Raw water requirements for the mine are primarily met through open pit dewatering, recycling within the process plant and the tailings water decant and return system. When water demand exceeds the available supply from these sources, make-up water is pumped from an external groundwater borefield located approximately 20 km to the east-northeast of the mine site. The borefield is located within the Bland Creek palaeochannel and the Eastern Saline Borefield and is linked to the mine site via a buried pipeline that traverses Lake Cowal, an ephemeral lake (Figures 2a and 2b). Surface water from the Lachlan River is also pumped occasionally using this water supply pipeline and via the Jemalong Irrigation Scheme. Detailed Description of the Proposed Action Evolution has identified potential opportunities to maximize the ore processing capacity of the CGO’s existing process plant. On this basis, Evolution is proposing changes to the CGO to accommodate an increase to the CGO’s approved ore processing rate (i.e. the Modification), which is the subject of the proposed Action. To accommodate the increased annual volume of tailings resulting from the increased ore processing rate, Evolution proposes to modify/expand the size of the existing tailings storage facilities within mining lease (ML) 1535 to form one tailings storage facility. The landform would also integrate with the existing mine waste rock and would be known as an ‘Integrated Waste Landform’. The indicative layout of the Action and the indicative extent of additional surface development (i.e. the Action area) are shown in Figures 2a and 2b. The Action would involve the re location of water management infrastructure (i.e. the Up Catchment Diversion System and approved location for contained water storage D10) and other ancillary infrastructure (e.g. access roads and soil stockpiles). This infrastructure is proposed to be located elsewhere within ML 1535 and/or in a new mining lease to the north west (Figure 2a). Submission #2597 - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification As part of the Action, the water supply pipeline would be duplicated along its length, up to Bore 4 of the Bland Creek Palaeochannel Borefield (Figure 2b). Similar to the existing pipeline, the duplicated pipeline would be buried. Should Lake Cowal contain water at the time of construction, the pipeline would be placed on the lake bed before being buried once lake levels subside and ground conditions allow burial of the pipeline. The Action would also involve: • an increased annual extraction of water from the CGO’s external water supply sources to account for additional requirements associated with the increase in ore processing rate; • installation of a secondary crushing circuit within the existing process plant area; • an increase in annual consumption of process consumables; and • relocation of a portion of the Travelling Stock Reserve and Lake Cowal Road (Figure 2a). 1.3 What is the extent and location of your proposed action? Use the polygon tool on the map below to mark the location of your proposed action. Area Point Latitude Longitude Mine Site 1 -33.655056173399 147.35729418898 Mine Site 2 -33.614752027197 147.32467852736 Mine Site 3 -33.603457767787 147.33137332106 Mine Site 4 -33.619183547513 147.39162646437 Mine Site 5 -33.645053358076 147.40947924758 Mine Site 6 -33.655627727735 147.41016589308 Mine Site 7 -33.659914264249 147.39832125807 Mine Site 8 -33.655056173399 147.35729418898 Pipeline 1 -33.644916480991 147.40845679463 Pipeline 2 -33.593169009129 147.46785163105 Pipeline 3 -33.566854518441 147.54853247822 Pipeline 4 -33.622620275709 147.60724066914 Pipeline 5 -33.610326310136 147.49978064717 Pipeline 6 -33.655490867465 147.40983008564 Pipeline 7 -33.644916480991 147.40845679463 1.5 Provide a brief physical description of the property on which the proposed action will Submission #2597 - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification take place and the location of the proposed action (e.g. proximity to major towns, or for off-shore actions, shortest distance to mainland). The CGO is located approximately 38 km north-east of West Wyalong in NSW (Figure 1). The CGO is located on the western side of Lake Cowal, an ephemeral freshwater lake predominantly filled by runoff from Bland Creek to the south, and flood breakout from the Lachlan River to the north. The Lachlan River is the major regional surface water system, forming part of the Murray Darling Basin. Flows in the Lachlan River are regulated by releases from Wyangala Dam. Breakout from the Lachlan River to Lake Cowal occurred in late 2010 and in the first half of 2012 and again in 2016. No breakouts occurred between the period 1998 and 2010. Land use in the local setting surrounding the Action is characterised by a combination of agricultural land use and conservation areas (offset areas) established as part of the CGO. Grazing and opportunistic cropping within the full storage water line of Lake Cowal (outside of ML 1535) occurs when the lake has receded, and moisture and market conditions are suitable. Occasional commercial fishing operations are undertaken in Lake Cowal when the lake is inundated. 1.6 What is the size of the development footprint or work area? 372 hectares 1.7 Is the proposed action a street address or lot? Street Address Off Lake Cowal Road Lake Cowal NSW 2671 Australia 1.8 Primary Jurisdiction. New South Wales 1.9 Has the person proposing to take the action received any Australian Government grant funding to undertake this project? No 1.10 Is the proposed action subject to local government planning approval? No Submission #2597 - Cowal Gold Operations Processing Rate Modification 1.11 Provide an estimated start and estimated end date for the proposed action. Start date 09/2018 End date 12/2032 1.12 Provide details of the context, planning framework and State and/or Local government requirements. An application to modify Development Consent DA 14/98 under section 75W of the NSW Environmental Planning and Assessment Act, 1979 (EP&A Act) to increase the CGO’s approved ore processing rate will be prepared for the Action. The Modification would be determined by the NSW Minister for Planning (or delegate). Permits and consents under sections 87 and 90 of the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Act, 1974 were obtained for the management of Aboriginal heritage at the approved CGO.
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